Matadors Fortes and Emilio de Justo exited on shoulders in Malaga on Friday after cutting two ears each, while Manuel Escribano suffered a severe goring during Victorino Martin's return fight.
The event formed the eighth subscription fight of the 150th Anniversary Fair at La Malagueta bullring. The afternoon drew an almost full house despite windy conditions as the legendary Victorino Martin ranch made its return to Malaga after a 12-year absence, presenting a well-formed and brave line of bulls with varied behavior.
Sevillian matador Manuel Escribano suffered an ascending 15-centimeter horn wound to his right leg during his first bull of the afternoon. Despite the severe injury, he chose to remain in the ring to complete his performance and kill his second bull out of turn before undergoing emergency surgery.
Fortes masterclass on home soil
Málaga-born matador Fortes, wearing an immaculate blue and gold suit, delivered the standout performance of the afternoon facing the fourth bull of the fight. The animal, a brave specimen named Borracho carrying number 53, was originally scheduled third in lidia order before a turn swap.
Fortes provided a lesson in purity and truth, particularly on the right horn, where he carved the bull at pleasure with exquisite smoothness, cadence, and depth. His work remained equally compact and decisive on natural left-handed passes as the bull's quality and bravery grew throughout the faena.
Achieving total communion with the animal, Fortes gave everything in the ring before executing a low but effective estocada to claim two ears. The crowd celebrated his performance while Borracho was rewarded with a lap of honor around the ring.
In his second appearance against the sixth bull, Fortes faced a weak-backed opponent whose lack of strength in its hind legs hindered the fight. Despite persistent attempts, Fortes could not build momentum, ending with two pinches, a low crosswise sword thrust, and two descabello strikes before receiving silence under a warning.
Emilio de Justo claims double trophy
Emilio de Justo, the matador from Cáceres dressed in white and jet black, opened his afternoon against the second bull, which emerged with great speed from the toril and developed demanding bravery in the muleta. De Justo made visible efforts to steal passes, which initially appeared agitated until the final stretch, when he brought his cloth low along the sand to execute smooth natural passes.
After landing a deep rear estocada and a descabello, De Justo was awarded a lap of honor around the arena following strong spectator petitions.
Facing the fifth bull, another fiercely brave Victorino animal that set the pace of the lidia, De Justo mounted a tenacious faena filled with intensity that thrilled the stands. Capitalizing on the favorable atmosphere following Fortes' earlier triumph, he dispatched the bull on his first sword entry with a low estocada, cutting two ears after receiving a warning to earn his exit through the main gate.
During De Justo's second performance, subaltern banderilleros Antonio Chacon and Jose Maria Valcarce took bows from the ring after executing impressive banderilla placements on the fifth bull.
Gored Escribano fights through pain
Manuel Escribano, dressed in slate gray and gold, displayed veteran craft and maturity against the afternoon's opening bull, a demanding gray cardeno specimen that accepted passes exclusively on its left horn. Escribano opened his performance kneeling at the toril gate in a dramatic porta gayola greeting before delivering a spectacular banderilla display.
Realizing the bull refused to pass on the right, stopping short and turning rapidly, Escribano attempted a single series on the right side. During a sudden pause, the bull caught the matador, driving its horn into his right tibia.
Ignoring the injury, Escribano continued fighting without inspecting his wound, delivering single natural passes in an unvarnished performance without music. After landing a slightly low estocada to receive an ovation, Escribano requested to swap turns and immediately face his second bull rather than entering the infirmary.
His second bull moved more dynamically but turned sharply whenever dominated from below. Escribano subdued the animal through pure firmness, executing an effective estocada to cut one ear, which he paraded around the ring before surrendering to doctors.
Infirmary surgery and medical prognosis
Surgeons in La Malagueta's infirmary operated on Escribano for a 15-centimeter goring running upwards between the muscles of his right upper tibia. The medical report detailed severe contusions and lacerations to the anterior tibialis muscle without vascular or neurological damage, leaving his prognosis as reserved.
The event highlighted the 150th anniversary celebrations of La Malagueta, Málaga's historic bullring established in 1876. The return of Victorino Martin's renowned Albaserrada ranch after 12 years stood out as one of the fair's central attractions, with notable bulls also reported in the third and fifth positions of the lidia.
